Chelsea have closed ranks to try and protect Fernando Torres after manager Andre Villas-Boas claimed there was a “media obsession” with the £50 million striker.
Petr Cech and John Terry had been at pains to stress Torres remains “one of the best strikers in the world”, despite only scoring one goal since his record-breaking move from Liverpool in January.
Cech said this week Torres should not be compared to Chelsea flop Andriy Shevchenko and Terry agreed on Tuesday. The Chelsea captain said:
“That’s unfair to Nando. Naturally, there’s a bit of pressure on him, but he can deal with it. He’s one of the best strikers in the world and he’s hungry to win.”
Torres finally spoke for the first time on Chelsea’s tour of Asia yesterday — albeit under pressure from one of his sponsors, Adidas — and maintained he has not lost his killer instinct.
Torres said: “I am 27. I don’t forget how to score goals. I will score. We are all trying to be in the best form for the new season. There are big expectations for the new season that Chelsea always have.”
